Walking is SO Underrated

To me the most underrated form of exercise is walking. Though, it has to be the easiest. We get so many benefits just from taking a quick stroll around the block, through the parking lot, or up a flight of stairs. It is so unfortunate that many don't see walking as exercise.

One of the things I'm doing this year is more walking. I use Nike+ iPod to document my walks/runs. Last year I walked/ran a total of 239.17 miles. Here's my chart:



My goal this year is to double my total. I want to get in at least 480 miles for 2010. Now you may think that is pretty aggressive and a high number to attain, but it is not if you break it down (which, of course I've done). Here's how I see it:

• 480 miles equates to 40 miles per month, 10 miles per week, or 1.2 miles per day. Now, I know that I can't walk every day of the year, for various reasons, but when it is broken down as such, it is doable.
• I set a goal to complete 40 miles in 4 weeks on Nike+ during the month of January. As of yesterday, I'm 8 miles away from those 40 miles. Have I walked/ran each day? Not at all. I mean, we had a really extreme cold spell for about a week! So nothing happened on those days, but I'm almost there.
  
• When I looked at my chart for 2009, I noticed a dip during the summer months. Though I love the heat, it does get really hot and a person is drenched after a mile or two. To combat that dip, I've signed up for several 5Ks and 10Ks over the next few months. Since I'm training for those, my mileage should increase somewhat so that dip will not hurt me later on in the year.
• I also wear a pedometer just about every day. I aim to get in 10,000 steps each day, but I don't always make it. I park at the far end of any parking structure, I take the stairs, I purposely go the long way when doing a task at work, etc. I force myself to move.move.move.
• Public accountability is important. I post the number of steps I take at the end of each day on Facebook. Some days it is well over 10K, and others it may be less than 3,000. It varies, but I post it no matter what (and generally w/o comment). When I don't wear the pedometer (due to a dress that I really don't have anywhere to hook it to), I state that.
  
• I also have my Nike+ account broadcasting to Facebook and Twitter.

Overall, I think I can accomplish my goal. I just have to stay focused and keep at it.

Water. Water.Water.

Long time no hear from. Yes, I'm still around and continuing my healthy lifestyle. I'll post over the next few weeks, what I've been doing to maintain my healthy lifestyle.

Water. Water. Water. <---That is an important part of my healthy lifestyle.

I try my best to get in 3 Liters per day. Does it happen everyday? Nope. In fact, the weekends are the worst for getting in water. I do so much better during the week (M-F) since I'm going to the gym each morning and start the day with 24 to 33 oz of water prior to 7 am. On those days, I'm on a roll with water. Saturday & Sunday, no so much.

The fortunate thing about drinking water on a consistent basis is that I can tell when I'm getting enough water in. I get that thirsty feeling and nothing will quench it other than water. Have I always been this consistent with water? No. When I first started losing weight I did up my water intake, but I was also drinking sodas consistently also. Not so much anymore.

Last summer I decided I wanted to rid myself of that extra caffeine (though I wasn't giving up coffee). So I began to limit my soda (Coke) intake to 2-3 times per week. I did pretty good. Then on August 1 I went cold turkey. No soda for the entire month. I almost made it, but I slipped up mid-month by ordering a rum & coke one evening out. That was the only soda I had for the month of August. Instead I drank only water or Crystal light green tea. I continued that trend into September where I didn't have a single soda that month. Since then, I've been averaging 1-2 sodas about every 4-5 weeks. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Overall, water is a very important of my healthy lifestyle. No, I'm not perfect with it, and it is quite annoying (at times) to have to continuously go to the bathroom, but it is what it is.

How about you? How's your water intake?